“So then, what I needed to understand, and as a former female athlete, and still… I love to be fit, I wanted to be fit postpartum. They wanted to continue in their fitness, so it became my mission to try to understand how to maintain fitness, because there’s so much benefit. And I’m talking to the CrossFit community, you guys understand; there’s so much benefit to fitness for ALL levels and manner and types of health. Emotional, mental, physical… and so how can we keep people fit AND help them with their pelvic health simultaneously. That became my mission, to try to blend those worlds.” –Julie Wiebe, PT

In this episode of Pursuing Health, I chat with physical therapist and pelvic floor health expert Julie Wiebe. Julie began her career focused on Sports Medicine, and through her own experiences and those of her patients, she identified a need for helping female athletes heal their bodies and maintain fitness before, during, and after pregnancy. Her mission is to revolutionize the way women recover from pregnancy and return to high levels of fitness. To that end, she has developed a unique and integrative approach to promoting women’s health. Her Diaphragm and Pelvic Floor Piston Science concepts apply to a variety of populations and have been successfully employed to help athletes overcome Diastasis Recti and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction.

Julie has over twenty years of clinical experience in Sports Medicine and Women’s Health, is a published author, and an international lecturer. She maintains a clinical practice in Los Angeles, and also shares her approach to pelvic health recovery via online courses available through her website.

In this episode we discuss:

Julie’s athletic background and what led her to become a physical therapist

What factors influenced her to focus on Women’s Health

The consequences that can result from exercising with Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

The anatomy of the pelvic floor, and how it is affected by pregnancy

How the pelvic floor operates as part of a system, and how it can increase athletic performance

What are some of symptoms and signals athletes and coaches can look for

Pelvic floor dysfunction in men and women who’ve never had children

Why we need to stop focusing on abs and have a balanced approach

The need for pelvic floor function to become part of our normal conversation, especially with youth

Common pre-pregnancy mistakes, and ways to prepare the pelvic floor for pregnancy

Guidelines pregnant women can use to approach exercise to maximize their chances of a full pelvic floor recovery

How important it is to set yourself up for a long-term life of fitness

An overview of diastasis recti, and why knowledge about it is important

How most people have a diastasis, and this is normal and natural

How to monitor for diastasis recti

Techniques athletes can use to kick up tension in their fascia and prevent abdominal separation

How she advises women to increase their activity and return to fitness post-partum

When a person should seek a practitioner for help

The value of consulting with a pelvic physical therapist post-partum

The value of understanding how form impacts pelvic health considerations

Her goal that professionals understand how important it is to look at musculoskeletal health, performance health, and pelvic health as a unit that works together

Three things she does on a regular basis that have the biggest positive impact on her health

One thing she struggles to implement that could have a big impact on her health

If you like this episode, please subscribe to Pursuing Health on iTunes and give it a rating. I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below and on social media using the hashtag #PursuingHealth. I look forward to bringing you future episodes with inspiring individuals and ideas about health every other Tuesday.

This episode is brought to you by MobilityWOD. Do you struggle to get into good positions in your training and workouts? Are your movement compensations causing you undue pain and grief? M|Wod’s belief is that every human being should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves. Join hundreds of Olympic and World Class athletes, College and Professional Teams in the NFL, MLB, Basketball, Hockey, Rugby and Soccer by using MobilityWOD to train and compete at your best. Visit www.mobilitywod.com to receive 20% off your annual membership with code JULIEFOUCHER.

This episode is also brought to you by Siete Foods.When Veronica Garza was facing a series of major health challenges as a teenager, her entire family of seven jumped on board to help. Together, they adopted a low-inflammation, grain free diet. As a Mexican-American family living in south Texas, they couldn’t imagine life without tortillas and it wasn’t long before Veronica came up with a delicious solution and Siete Foods was born. Visit www.sietefoods.com to try some of their delicious grain free and paleo-friendly tortillas or tortilla chips yourself and use code Julie for 10% off your order.

Disclaimer: This podcast is meant to share the experiences of various individuals. It does not provide medical advice, and it is not a substitute for advice from your physician or health care professional.